The prevalence of HCV antibodies in skin disease patients in Saudi Arabia

Background/aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a worldwide health issue with about 3% of the world’s population having HCV. In Saudi Arabia, prevalence ranges from 1.0% to 5.87%. Cutaneous diseases can indicate the presence of HCV infection. Objectives: The research project aims to identify prospectively the prevalence of HCV infection in 200 patients with various types of skin disorders and 50 healthy blood donors, and to quantify this association through clinical and laboratory investigations. Methods: Two hundred patients with cutaneous manifestations who presented at the Dermatology outpatient clinics of King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) and King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Riyadh, and 50 healthy blood donors were prospectively studied. Patients were examined by a team of dermatologists and clinical data were collected through a standard uestionnaire. Ten milliliters of venous blood were collected from fully consented, 8–10 h fasting patients and serum was analyzed for AST, ALT, double infection with HBsAg, anti-HCV antibodies, and screened for HCV-RNA-PCR. Results: Patients from the study (n= 200) consisted of 25 (12.5%) males and 175 (87.5%) females, with a mean age of 42.9 ±15.06 years. Clinical examinations revealed that (35%) had urticaria, followed by pruritus (28%), lichen planus (25.5%), prurigo (10%), and palpable purpura (1.5%). The main serum levels of ALT and AST were within the normal reference ranges. Twenty-four patients (12%) tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies, with 15 (62.5%) being positive for the presence of HCV-RNA by PCR and 9 (37.5%) resulting negative for the viral RNA